https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:23:40 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1389402 Fri, 31 Jan 2014 02:17:37 +0000 Kimberlybee 1389402@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>People have just become so insensitive and have lost their hearts and minds too! The adults who were involved were clearly not thinking it through and acted like idiots. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1389396 Fri, 31 Jan 2014 01:51:54 +0000 Boogs 1389396@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That makes me so so ill! It's one thing to not be allowed to serve a regular lunch, but to take perfectly good ones and toss them?! Why?!?! Maybe my old schools were awesome, but they NEVER let a child go hungry. They went above and beyond to remind parents if their child was in the negative. They gave them applications for free and reduced lunch if they were having a hard time paying. And after parents kept dropping the ball after a certain period of time, children were given alternate lunches eg pb&amp;j with a piece of fruit and milk. And you know what, there are ALWAYS leftovers in the cafeteria and because of food safety laws they can't be kept anyway, so why not feed it to the kids while the food is still in the window of safety instead of throwing it out?! In my mind, only a sick, disgusting person would rather watch a child go hungry out of mere principle. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1389320 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 23:12:08 +0000 Mrs. Sketchbook 1389320@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This makes me want to cry. Sometimes I truly cannot take this world. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1389302 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 22:52:04 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 1389302@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The school was in the wrong. Sounds like they only tried to notify parents and get this resolved for 1.5 days- Monday and Tuesday. That doesn't seem like a long time to then go to the extreme of withholding lunch. To remove lunch that has already been served just to throw it away and proved a point is plain stupid. Wednesday serve the kids milk and orange, but leave them alone on Tuesday. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1389278 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 22:30:58 +0000 HLK208 1389278@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>WHAT? How is that okay??? Omg. That's awful. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1389273 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 22:26:35 +0000 jedeve 1389273@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So horrendous. I can't imagine who would have thought we should take it away and then who allowed that to happen. Those parties should be fired. </p> <p>It was the school's responsibility to notify the parents in a timely manner of low/no funds. It was parents' responsibility to pay for kids lunches. While yes, kids should be starting to take on responsibility, like remembering their homework, keeping themselves fed is not their responsibility and they should not be punished for others' faults. </p> <p>My parents were well off but my mom was pretty forgetful. We didn't have accounts, you had to bring $1 every day. One year it went up to $1.10 and my mom hadn't read the info packet. The lunch lady started to get annoyed with me for being shirt and then I think realized it wasn't my fault and told me to bring it tomorrow. And gosh the number of times I had to count out 100 pennies or 20 nickels for the lunch ladies! But it wasn't exactly my responsibility to go to the bank and take out ones was it? I'm glad no one made me starve!</p> <p>The school could have easily given parents more notice or had the students run a deficit to be paid back. What they did was unfathomable. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1388267 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 15:14:21 +0000 Greentea 1388267@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Maysprout: THIS. I think the disturbing part of this situation is the *judgement* or lack thereof on behalf of the staff who are *being paid* to work around children and function as a rational adult. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1388249 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 15:09:54 +0000 Maysprout 1388249@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Whoever decided to give them food then take it and throw it away has decently poor critical thinking skills and a lack of empathy for kids so probably shouldn't be working with kids. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387995 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:52:01 +0000 pinkcupcake 1387995@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think what's awful is that the school SERVED the food, then SNATCHED it away, only to toss it. Seriously. Horrible, horrible, horrible.</p> <p>My mom was a super involved parent, and even she forgot to send money to pay for lunches once in awhile. The school would typically send a reminder letter to parents when only a few lunches remained, but there were times I forgot to give her the letter or something. Not sure what the system is like now, but I can see how a busy parent could totally space and forget to send lunch money. </p> <p>I remember when I was in elementary school, we all received paper tickets to "pay" for lunch. The children who paid full price were given one color, while the children who received free or reduced cost lunches were given a different color. I remember thinking even back then, that it must suck so bad to have to hold your different colored ticket in line. It's like screaming to the world, HI MY PARENTS ARE POOR AND CAN'T REALLY AFFORD FOOD. Kids don't want to be *different* or stick out from their peers. I can only imagine how those kids must have felt... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387992 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:51:00 +0000 Anagram 1387992@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PurplePeony<br /> @CupQuakeWalk<br /> @MrsSCB: </p> <p>I think we all agree.I said THIS situation in particular is terrible and schools I've worked in have always given an alternate lunch (not thrown away food). </p> <p>Then I said that if this is an ongoing problem (parents who don't qualify for free or reduced lunch not paying) then it has to be addressed because schoolslegally can't pay for school lunches with government money allocated for say, textbooks or staff salaries. But I definitely don't agree with throwing food away. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387989 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:48:39 +0000 pui 1387989@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>How... how does that make ANY sense? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387932 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:31:01 +0000 PurplePeony 1387932@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: I hear what you're saying, but it seem to me that throwing food out is the worst of all "solutions." Somebody still has to pay for it, even though it didn't get eaten -- so who? As a parent, I would pay what I owed but would NOT pay for food stolen from my kid's hands. This school is likely paying for the food it wasted anyway. Better to just give the kids sandwiches on all subsequent days until their parents pay up, no? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387916 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:27:11 +0000 MrsSCB 1387916@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mamaof2: weird, I wonder why this school didn't do that? Sounds like someone made a really bad decision. It's just hard to believe they didn't anticipate some kind of backlash! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387912 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:26:00 +0000 Mamaof2 1387912@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsSCB: agree! I read a few different articles on the topic and apparently in Elementary school they are suppose to just keep the account with a negative balance until the parents pay up - once you hit middle school then they expect the student to be more proactive about his/her account. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387908 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:24:13 +0000 MrsSCB 1387908@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mamaof2: I saw that and I agree it's better than nothing. But to me the biggest outrage is the humiliation of taking the lunches away and the food waste. Not a good lesson to teach the kids. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387901 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:23:14 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 1387901@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: I see your point but, no; I won't give the benefit of the doubt. They *gave* the kids lunch and *then* walked by, snatche it and threw it in the TRASH. Any social worker, educator or psychologist would know this is a detrimental action and can cause residual social effects. Yes- I see your point of the school trying to send a loud message to parents, but there are 100s of other ways to be loud without being hurtful to elementary aged children. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387899 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:22:33 +0000 MrsSCB 1387899@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: if the school is so strapped for cash, though, wouldn't it make more sense for them to let the kids eat the meals they gave them than to waste them? That's just throwing money in the trash. IMO there us no excuse for both humiliating children and wasting perfectly good food. Someone had a serious lapse in judgment here and they owe all if these children a better apology than a Facebook post. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387896 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:21:40 +0000 Mamaof2 1387896@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p><a href="http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/30/22504777-reports-lunches-seized-from-utah-schoolkids-because-of-unpaid-bills?lite" rel="nofollow">http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/30/22504777-reports-lunches-seized-from-utah-schoolkids-because-of-unpaid-bills?lite</a></p> <p>This article says they were given milk and an orange - not that I think its acceptable but at least they gave them something </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387883 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:17:58 +0000 looch 1387883@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsSCB: I think what's missing is if the kids were on a reduced/free program, or if this is just a pay as you go program so the caf doesn't have to take cash. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387881 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:17:05 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 1387881@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That's is terrible. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387880 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:16:45 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 1387880@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>NO! Just no! How f****** ludicrous! How is this a solution? This is nothing but a way to further stigmatize these children. While I don't condone debt, this method was such a low blow and a counterproductive way to "reach out to parents in debt". Screw this guy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387879 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:16:40 +0000 Mamaof2 1387879@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It is horribly sad but from the sounds of it these kids aren't those on the free lunch program, hence why the parents forgot to put money in the account.</p> <p>Throwing away the food is a disgrace! Chalk up the loss but let the poor kid eat it and send a note home to the parent!</p> <p>If this is an ongoing problem kids should have to present their meal card BEFORE getting their lunch! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387868 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:12:28 +0000 Anagram 1387868@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it's terrible. I work in a middle school (and have worked in public schools for 11 years) and we never let a child go without lunch. HOWEVER, at my old school a child couldn't get a regular hot lunch if they hadn't paid; they would get a brown paper bag sack lunch that just had a sandwich and an orange or something.</p> <p>And that was only for students who had to pay for lunch. If students were on free lunch, then they got their lunch every day anyway.</p> <p>But also...keep in mind that schools have very limited budgets and they often can't move funds from one type of account to another. For instance, there are government mandates about class size, so a school can't take money allocated for teacher salaries, and cut teacher positions to pay for school lunches.</p> <p>Schools are strapped for cash--STRAPPED. So spending hundreds of dollars each day for school lunches *when students don't qualify for free lunch based on parent income* has major financial implications for a school. </p> <p>How are they supposed to pay for it? Which fund should they take it out of? Paper? Paying the electric bill? Staff Salary?</p> <p>And finally...always, ALWAYS if there is a financial issue that happens suddenly (loss of job, etc) a parent just needs to contact the school and let them know. In every single school I've worked in, teachers and staff have gone above and beyond for our students. I have given my own personal lunch away to a kid who forgot their lunch because they were in tears. And I had a 30 minute lunch break so no chance to drive somewhere to get more food. We always rally around our less fortunate students to buy them winter coats, food (for their entire families), new shoes, etc.</p> <p>So maybe this school should be given the benefit of the doubt. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387823 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:59:42 +0000 MamaMoose 1387823@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What the damn hell? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387788 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:49:14 +0000 Bao 1387788@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Wow that is horrible :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387786 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:48:58 +0000 mrsjyw 1387786@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>WTF?! How the hell does this even make sense?! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387784 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:48:04 +0000 MrsSCB 1387784@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: the school district said they attempted to contact the parents on Monday and Tuesday morning, and then threw out the lunches Tuesday afternoon. That hardly seems like much time, especially if parents are working long hours. ETA: in the article that gawker links to, one mom says that as far as she knew, she was all paid up.</p> <p>I just think it's absurd that they decided it was better to put the food in the trash than let the kids eat it. Wtf? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387738 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:35:21 +0000 looch 1387738@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I feel like this story has more to it than what was written. Did the parents know that they didn't have funds, or were behind? Were they told that this could be a consequence?</p> <p>I feel terrible for the children, though, they were not the ones that should have been made a public spectacle. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387736 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:34:39 +0000 yoursilverlining 1387736@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had heard about this. I don't know how people who do things like this live with themselves. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/utah-school-officials-take-lunches-away-from-children-behind-on-bills#post-1387730 Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:33:43 +0000 Cole 1387730@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That is the saddest, meanest most uncompassionate thing I have ever heard of. I taught for one year in an iffy area and anyone else who has knows that you can't teach a hungry child much of anything, learning can only happen when basic human needs are met. </p>